Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lampre Recon of Giro di Lombardia New Route

Marco Marzano, Damiano Cunego, Michele Scarponi, Diego Ulissi and Mattia Cattaneo (blue and white kit, signed for the next season) have just finished a reconnaissance of the new Giro di Lombardia route (new route information here). Starting from Carpino Bergamasco they rode the final 178 km to the finish in Lecco.

First they tackled the Valcava climb, then Colle Brianza and Colma di Sormano. After the demanding downhill of Sormano (where Nibali crashed last year) , the riders covered Ghisallo’s climb past the chapel and then the new climb of Villa Vergano.

Cunego and Scarponi had the same thoughts about the new course: “It will be a very tough Giro di Lombardia. The Valcava climb is demanding, even if it’s in the early part of the race. It will be very important to pay attention on the descent of Colma di Sormano and then to Villa Vergano, a perfect place to attack in view of the finish line”.

Last year the race started under dry conditions but became cold and wet at Lake Como making for absolutely dreadful riding conditions. How bad was it? 195 riders started but only 34 arrived at the finish in Como.

Next appointment for the Giro di Lombardia: October 15th.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,100 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.